White House: Obama will cut weekend Europe trip short, visit Dallas ‘early next week’

WASHINGTON, July 8 (UPI) — President Barack Obama will depart for Spain on Saturday and return to the United States Sunday — one day earlier than planned — so that he can visit Dallas and meet with police and citizens impacted by the deadly police shootings.

The White House announced the amended travel schedule late Friday, saying Obama will visit Madrid Saturday and travel to Rota the following day.

The president was supposed to then visit Seville, but the White House said that stop has been pulled from the schedule so Obama can return to Washington.

It’s unclear which day Obama will visit Dallas, but the White House press office said it will be “early next week.”

“The president has accepted an invitation from Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to travel to Dallas,” the announcement stated.

At the invitation of Mayor @Mike_Rawlings, @POTUS will travel to Dallas early next week: pic.twitter.com/NZCGu0JcxS— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 8, 2016
The White House/Twitter

Friday, Obama delivered remarks on the deadly shootings, which killed four Dallas Police Department officers and a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer. Seven other officers were wounded along with two civilians.

The suspected gunman, Micah Xavier Johnson, was killed hours later by a police robot carrying explosives.

“Later in the week, at the White House, the president will continue to work to bring people together to support our police officers and communities, and find common ground by discussing policy ideas for addressing the persistent racial disparities in our criminal justice system.”

Obama was still in Poland Friday for the remainder of the NATO summit. His trip this weekend could possibly be his final to Europe as U.S. president.

“I speak for every single American when I say that we are horrified over these events, and that we stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas,” Obama said Friday. “There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks or any violence against law enforcement.”